"Bear" is a LGBT slang term that refers to members of a subculture in the homosexual and bisexual male communities and to an emerging subset of LGBT communities with events, codes, and a culture-specific identity. It can also be used more generically to describe a physical body shape.
The term "bear" is credited to Richard Bulger, who, along with his then partner Chris Nelson (1960–2006) founded Bear Magazine in 1987.
Bears are heavy-set men and are often characterized as having hairy bodies and facial hair; some are also muscular; some attempt to project an image of rugged masculinity in their grooming and appearance. Some bears place importance on presenting a hypermasculine image and may shun interaction with, and even disdain, men who exhibit effeminacy.[1] The bear concept can function as an identity, an affiliation, and there is ongoing debate in bear communities about what constitutes a bear, however a consensus exists that inclusion is an important part of the bear community.[2][3]
Bears are almost always gay or bisexual men. Increasingly, transgender or transsexual men (trans men) and those who shun labels for gender and sexuality are also included within bear communities.
Younger or smaller men who identify with bear culture may also be labelled as cubs.
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At the onset of the bear movement, some Bears separated from the gay community at large, forming "bear clubs" to create social and sexual opportunities for their own. Many clubs are loosely organized social groups; others are modeled on leather biker-patch clubs, with a strict set of bylaws, membership requirements, and charities. Bear clubs often sponsor large yearly events—"Bear runs" or "Bear gatherings" like the annual events such as HiBearNation in St. Louis, Missouri, International Bear Rendezvous, CBL's Bear Hunt,[4] Bear Pride, Texas Bear Round Up (TBRU) in Dallas, Orlando Bear Bash,[5] drawing regional, national and international visitors. Many LGBT events attract a significant bear following, such as Southern Decadence[6] in New Orleans. A feature at many bear events is a "bear contest," a sort of masculine beauty pageant awarding titles and sashes (often made of leather) to winners.
One example of a bear contest was International Mr. Bear, formerly held each February at the International Bear Rendezvous in San Francisco. It attracted contestants, often with local titles, from all over the world. The first International Mr. Bear was held in 1992 and the last in 2011. The contest included bear, daddy, cub and grizzly titles with the contestant who receives the highest score winning the bear title, regardless of what type he is. Example: "Mr. Washington, D.C. Bear, 2006."
Gay "leather-bears" have competed in leather contests, and "muscle-bears" are another subculture noted by their muscular body mass.
The bear community has spread all over the world, with bear clubs in many countries. Bear clubs often serve as social and sexual networks for their members, who can contribute to their local gay communities through fund-raising and other functions. Bear events are common in areas with large gay communities.
The gay bear community constitutes a specialty niche in the commercial market. It offers T-shirts and other accessories as well as calendars and porn movies and magazines featuring bear icons, e.g., Jack Radcliffe. Catalina Video has a bear-themed line, the "Furry Features Series." Other adult studios who feature bear-type men are Bear Magazine, 100% BEEF Magazine, BearFilms, Bear, Butch Bear, Raging Stallion, and Titan Media.
As the bear community has matured, so has its music and literature, as well as other (non-pornographic) arts, media, and culture. Examples include: Bearapalooza, a traveling bear music festival; Bear Bones Books, an imprint of GLBTQ publisher Lethe Press, which markets fiction and nonfiction titles written by and for bears; BearRadio.net, which streams bear and GLBTQA music and bear-themed podcast shows. The larger organized bear runs often host a "bear market" area where artisans, musicians, and others offer items for sale.
As more gay men have identified themselves as bears, more bars, especially leather or western bars, have become bear-friendly. Some bars cater specifically to bear patrons.
Over the years, bear culture has subdivided itself. Many claim discrimination has increased within the bear community, as some men who self-identify as "bears" or "musclebears" do not welcome higher-bodyfat men (see chub) at their events. A common criticism of the bear community is that some self-described bears tend to exclude men who do not fit their standards of a "real bear". Fat (or lack of it) is a political issue, some of whom see their overweight condition as a form of self-acceptance. Some also note a lack of racial diversity in the bear community, perceiving hirsuteness to be a standard of physical attractiveness that genetically favors white men aesthetically, socially and sexually among bears.[1]
The AIDS devastation in San Francisco accelerated the generation gap between older and younger bear-identified men, peaking in the early 1990s. Some older survivors claim that the current bear culture has become "shallow and catty," which is also their common criticism of mainstream gay culture. The allegation is that the younger bear community no longer reflects the culture's original function as a social alternative for primarily rural and blue-collar, traditionally masculine gay men. Moreover, the proliferation of bear pageants and their title winners ("sash bears") runs contrary to the early bear community's identification with and admiration for unself-conscious masculinity.
Though not generally widely known outside of the gay community, the awareness of the bear culture has grown after numerous references in mainstream pop culture. As an example: the December 2007 issue of Instinct magazine featured an article by Kevin Smith, "The Last Word" page. Smith wrote about his gay brother Don, about him being on the cover of A Bear's Life magazine and the related cover story, and his feelings about being a "bear icon" in the gay community.[7] References to bears are occasionally made on television and in printed media.
A variety of media has been established specifically to cater to bears. The Internet comic strip Bear with Me[8] centers around the life of the bear Andy McCubbin, a rich entrepreneur and heir to the Howell/McCubbin fortune, and his friends and family. A vast majority of the other characters are also bears. The comics are created by Tim Vanderburg under the pen name Bruin.[9] In Tim Barela's comic strip, Leonard & Larry, a majority of the male characters are bearded men, some self-identified as bears, most to not.[10] Another webcomic, Blur the Lines, frequently features bearish men and the two main characters, Rick and Drew, associate with the bear community (The former identifies as a chub, whereas the latter identifies as a chaser/cub. See below for term definitions). The events and characters depicted in the strip are inspired by the life of the author and artist, Bob Kusiak, who is also involved to some extent with the bear community.[11]
Some slang terms relating to the bear community include the following:
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